Simon Collins

The Irish Football Association disciplinary committee have hit Portadown Football Club with a £350 fine and awarded a 3-0 defeat to Ards following the suspension row surrounding striker, Robert Garrett.

The IFA claim it’s ‘satisfied that Portadown knew or ought to have known the current rules with regards to suspensions’ and therefore found the club were in breach of Article 22.1 of the Disciplinary Code relating to player ineligibility through suspension.

Garrett played and scored in Portadown’s 3-1 weekend win over Ards despite the fact the IFA suspension list, posted on October 21 on the official website, listed Garrett as set to serve a one-match ban for the weekend fixture.

The IFA’s statement read: “Following consideration of Portadown’s written comments, the Discipline Committee has today charged the club with a breach of Article 22.1 of the Disciplinary Code namely, ineligibility through suspension. As a result, the club has been sanctioned with a £350 fine and will forfeit the match by the score 3-0.

“The Committee in considering the matter was mindful of the recent Warrenpoint Town Arbitration decision which confirmed that the Committee does not appear to enjoy a discretion in relation to a player who participated in a match whilst under suspension.

“Paragraph 37 of the decision states ‘It follows that I consider that Article 23.1 of the Disciplinary Code when construed in the light of Article 1.6 gives a discretion to the Disciplinary Committee in cases in which the offence is committed by an official rather than by a player.

The Committee was satisfied that Portadown knew or ought to have known the current rules with regards to suspensions.

IFA spokesman

“It follows that I consider that if the offence had been committed by a player the discretion would be excluded by the AoA and the relevant provisions of FIFA and UEFA.’

In addition, the Committee was satisfied that Portadown knew or ought to have known the current rules with regards to suspensions.”

Portadown were on a zero tally for the season, having been issued a 12-point deduction at the start of the campaign by the IFA due to issues over player contracts.

However this further points reduction means the troubled Shamrocks will now be on -3 points going into this weekend’s fixtures.